Leucine dehydrogenase from Bacillus sphaericus. Optimized production conditions and an efficient method for its large-scale purification

Summary To develop a large-scale isolation of leucine dehydrogenase (E.C. 1.4.1.9) as industrial catalyst we carried out a limited screening for microorganisms with high leucine dehydrogenase activity.Conditions for the growth and enzyme formation of Bacillus sphaericus (DSM 396) which proved to be the best enzyme producer were optimized. The highest yield in volume and specific activity were obtained using glucose and yeast-extract in the medium.The highest specific enzyme activity was found at the end of the exponential growth phase. Cultivation of Bacillus sphaericus under optimal conditions increased the yield to about 3 U mg^–1. The heat stability of the enzyme was exploited to develop a simple large-scale purification. Together with an ultrafiltration step, the enzyme could be enriched 9fold in a short time. After further purification using DE-cellulose an enzyme preparation (25fold enriched) was obtained; suitable as a technical catalyst in amino acid production.